GRAVETTE -- Ten employment contracts were approved following an executive session at the Aug. 18 meeting of the Gravette School Board.
Leslie Andreasen was hired as a fifth-grade teacher; Elizabeth Lopez and Sonya Howard as special education paraprofessionals; David Teed as a bus driver; Amanda Davis, Pam Pendergraph and Tanya Talley as food service workers; Jana Hardgrave as head track coach; Dan Childress as assistant track coach and Kayla Shortt as assistant softball coach. Approval was given to the transfer of Tara Humphrey from an upper elementary teacher to GUE/GMS reading/keyboarding teacher. Resignations were accepted from Mindy Becker, who accepted the position of GUE/GMS reading/keyboard teacher but resigned due to a conflict; Speed Estep, bus driver; and Kevin Cole, head track coach.
A group of students from the HOSA Club at Gravette High School attended the board meeting and led in the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting. Mary Helen Smithers and Peyton Scott gave a presentation detailing the many awards Angie Scott and the HOSA students had won this past year and introduced the national winners. Students Jaye Chalk and DaMayla Cowan presented a proposal for a showcase to be installed at the high school to display the many HOSA awards.
The Gravette HOSA Club took 36 students to national competition and they competed in 16 events. Gravette was the only school in Arkansas to place a student in the top 10. Ten HOSA students participated in the certified nursing class and all 10 passed their state boards and can now work in the health care field.
Angela Scott worked hard to promote the HOSA program and inspired her students to achieve at these levels, but the HOSA representatives pointed out she never wanted the spotlight to be on her but on her students. School board president Danny Alsup said the school was proud of the program and the board would do everything possible to make sure that her legacy will continue.
Superintendent Richard Page gave the financial reports and enrollment figures for the first day of school. Sheila Roughton, food service manager, gave the food service report and reported on the Seamless Summer Program. The program fed 1,108 more youngsters than last year. Board members John Edwards and Jack Skillett reported they visited the summer feeding program and were impressed with the results. Skillett recommended transferring some money from the building fund to food service to pay for a new freezer since some repairs have recently been needed on current refrigeration equipment. The board agreed it would be a good idea to do a periodic evaluation of food service equipment and replace older equipment on a regular rotation.
Athletic director Norman Mitchell gave the athletic department report. He said plans are in the works to repair some areas of grass on the football field and work on the baseball and softball fields. He reported the Booster Club will buy one meal for the football players for each game they play in the playoffs.
Stephanie Summerford reported on the test and assessment data. She said test scores were really good and praised the hard work done by the teachers. She said, "The teachers are doing great things" and students are scoring higher and higher on ACT tests, consistently scoring above state levels. Summerford said teachers plan to sit down, determine areas of weakness and work on those. They want to celebrate the successes but also assess students who are struggling and develop a plan to help them improve.
At the request of board member Jack Skillett, the board agreed to focus on ACT scores at the next meeting, studying the national average and comparison of Gravette students with other schools in the region.
Six student transfers were approved. Two ninth-grade students were denied transfer due to capacity. The school board report and decision calendar was approved.
In other business, the board approved the transfer of $100,000 from the operating funds into the building fund. Richard Carver, transportation director, was given approval to advertise for bids on a new 77-passenger regular fleet bus and given permission to sell a 2001 Ford E-150 bus. Approval was also given to printing 400 copies of an informational school flyer to be mailed this week.
Approval was given to re-establishing the audit committee. Dan Yates will chair the committee with Superintendent Page, Jay Oliphant, Jim Singleton, Bill Hayford and one outside individual yet to be chosen as the other members. It is felt this committee can help provide guidance for the new school business manager. Plans are for it to meet three or four times a year and go over internal controls. A second committee was approved with Superintendent Page, Dan Yates and Jim Singleton as members to interview prospective firms to review the school's classified salary schedule.
General News on 08/27/2014